Mtepani School

The Work Continues

Here are the latest pics from Mtepani. The contractor is getting ready to pour concrete for the second floor. It is amazing how these guys uses sticks to hold up all of the forms.

God Is Good...All The Time...All The Time God Is GOOD!

We are home.

God is GOOD! The Mission Mombasa team has arrived back at home safely. God worked in a mighty way while we were in Kenya. About 50 people accepted Christ as thier personal savior and our lives are changed forever. We want to say THANK YOU for all of the prayers, encouragement and support we received from so many people. As I sit here and think about the trip I am once again overwhelmed with all of the things I saw and felt in Kenya. The people there are hungry for food, education, and hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. As we arrived at the airport I looked at Chris and said this is the end of this trip but just the begining for Real 4 Christ and the AMAZING things that God is doing in and around Mombasa.

God Bless

David and Kim Hayes

Please remember to keep Pastor Nzaro and the Mbewua Bible Church and Academy of Mtepani in your prayers. As we get more pictures of the school and news of God's work we will try to keep you updated.

Day 6- celebration Sunday at Mtepani

Pastor Nzaro of Mtepani has an amazing burden and passion for his people. I was challenged by his enthusiastic worship and powerful preaching. Hallmark has invested in a godly man with a tremendous heart!

-Jon Haley

Todays service at Mtepani was such a blessing! I could really feel the spirit of God moving in this poor country church. The people have so little, but lift up their voices in praise to God with a spirit that is unlike most I have seen anywhere else. I truly wish that our mission field in the U.S. were as easy as it is here. I will miss Kenya very much.

-Kim Roberts

Today at Mtepani was amazing! My favorite part was listening to a young lady pray because she was so passionate talking to God. It felt like God was right there in the little church with us! I will always remember it!

-Christy Montieth

Today was our final day in Mtepani. I experienced my first African church service. That was unique in itself. The people there prayed with so much passion, and praised so loudly. It was encouraging to see this in the hearts of all the people there. They are poor, but they loved and laughed and praised God like it was the last day of their life! I pray that we do not forget the hearts of the African people, and that we can carry on the spirit of worship, prayer, thankfulness and love back home with us.

-Brandon 

Today we had a final church service in Mtepani. It was amazing to see just how much the leaders of the church had prepared just for us! Many of the ladies spent 2 days building a kitchen to prepare lunch in. One man, Jackson stayed up the entire night preparing the food for us and nearly five hundred other people who joined us in the service.  They are extremely giving people.  But, I think my favorite part of the day was when they presented us with coconuts as a gift.  Another man, Justin cut them open with a machete and we drank the juice out.  It really was a good day!  See you all soon.

-Rachel

Mtepani will always have a special place in my heart.  The kids were so amazing at listening and understanding the gospel.  I saw four boys walking by the church and I waved them over.  They listened to the message and one of them ended up excepting Jesus into his heart. It was awesome to see!  Keep praying.

-Hillary

One of the awesome sights of Mtepani today was all the Kenyan's praying aloud during the church service.  It made me think of Heaven and how beautiful the sounds will be from every tribe and nation praising God.  To think God allowed us a small part in that!  Thank You for your prayer and support during our trip.  We love you and are so thankful for our church. 

-Kelly

I see the compassion Pastor Nzaro has for his people, but he also preaches the truth to them.  He does not sugar coat it.  He has two good men, Jackson and Justin to stand along his side.  I see God blessing the church in Mtepani.

-Greg Wagner

What a way to end our trip! We attended the MBEWAU church service today and what a service.  We spent time with the children today and you could see the hope they had in Jesus Christ.  We are way tooo blessed in America and seldom think we have enough. God bless the village of Mtepani. See you soon.

-Wayne

Praise the Lord!  We have had such an amazing day at Mtepani's church service.  Just knowing how hard everyone worked for the lunch that was given, brought tears to my eyes.  My new found friend Maureen let me know that Pastor Nzaro's wife was not feeling well and would be going to visit a doctor. I was able to pray for her, and she asked me to eat lunch with her.  Her health is very important, because she does so much for her family and the church.  Pray for her and the people of Mtepani.  Keep the team in your prayers for travel mercies.  

-Katina aka Mama FuPi 

We are so blessed to have been able to come to Mtepani! The church service was wonderful. We loved the worship... the loud voices and makeshift drums filled the air. During the preaching, we were able to take the children outside for sunday school. Several boys raised thier hands, at the end, saying that they accepted Christ as their savior! Please keep the people of Mtepani in your prayers, and that God will raise up leaders in these children. 

-David and Kim Hayes

I really enjoyed being with the kids! I was very surprised when I found out a small boy was fifteen years old. I asked the teacher about him and she said that the children in Kenya do not have as much food as the children in America and can not grow as big. I am thankful that we have everything that we need to grow up properly. I hope to come back to Africa soon!

-Lauren

Day 5 Tiwi and Perani

Today we visited our last two schools, the first was Tiwi and the second is called Perani. The first school was huge, and so beautiful! We were greeted by children who compete in singing competitions. I've never heard young voices that were more beautiful. This has really been a recurring theme all week, but we love it so much. I could never and will never get tired of hearing these beautiful voices singing praises to the Lord. I believe a tear was brought to every eye at some time during the week because of their worship. 

At our last school today, the children left us by marching and dancing out of the room in a line, while singing a song with us. As they left we gave each of them a goody-bag that many of our Hallmark students put together for them. We sang, "We are marching in the light of God." These children are being taught every day to walk, sing and dance in the light of God, just like the song says!

See all of you soon! And I love you mom and dad (I'm safe)

- Love Rachel

We are having a great time!!! It was so much fun to visit the different schools. Tomorrow we are going to be going to the market and snorkeling. We will not be blogging:) Love you Mom, Dad and family!

-Kim Hayes

Day 4 Bumoni and Vipingo

Today we visited 2 feeding centers.   These centers are fully funded and have very nice buildings.  They have about 150 children.  God has really blessed these centers and have almost all of their needs met.  I was able to see what a feeding center and school can look like when it has plenty of support. The new building at Mtepani is just the beginning of some exciting things to come for that area.  God is really working on this trip.  Many of our hearts have really been touched.

Today we went past an alligator farm.  It was pretty cool to look over the wall and see the BIG GATORS!

~David Hayes

Day3

This trip so far has been AMAZING!  It has opened my eyes to so many things.  I lead my first person to the Lord yesterday. It was a young lady. Today, I gave my testimony for the first time to a group. I was extremely nervous, but once they started asking questions it was easy to open up.  One boy named Barry, pulled Kim H. aside and told her that he struggled with the same stuff I had.  He said that he had prayed to accept Christ and wanted a new beginning.  It makes me very happy that God can use me to impact others. We'll see you in a week... Shout out to Chad, told you I'd do it! I love ya'll.

~Lauran Chazaretta

God has been working every day.  On Tuesday, we had a medical clinic and teams went out to evangelize.  When we arrived at Mtepani the pastor advised Bro. Chris to go and comfort a family who lost a small child during the night.  I asked Chris if I could go. On the way we learned that we would be performing a funeral for the child.  We drove on some pretty rough roads and arrived near the small village.  We walked down a trail to a small hut made of straw and mud.  The men and father were gathered under a shade tree.  Several women were sitting by the door.  As we walked into the hut, we observed several women and the mother inside weeping and chanting.  A small 8 month old baby boy named Morgan was wrapped in a blanket. Little Morgan was beautiful and appeared to be asleep.  They asked Bro. Jon Haley to preach Morgan's funeral.  Bro. Jon did a great job presenting the gospel.  Even though it was a tragic event, little Morgan's short life was instrumental in 12 people accepting Chirst as their savior.  God is Great! 

~Greg Wagner

Day 2 Mtepani Village

The men have been meeting every morning for a devotional on integrity.  It is a real blessing to continue studying about God's word while we're here in Africa.  Today we went back to the village of Mtepani to play with the children and to go out into the village to share the Gospel of Christ.  I thought I had seen kuntry (country) before, boy was I wrong!  Today I hit the trails with Lauran, Hillary and two translators, Robert from Crossroads Fellowship and Jackson from MBEWU Church.  We visited with people who had never been reached with the Gospel, wow what an awesome experience that was!  As we entered into the cluster of huts the translator asked any of the adults who were there if they would come out to hear some good news from the mzungu (white man,) boy did they surprise me with their reaction!  Every person we spoke to was very receptive to what we had to say and listened attentively.  We all shared the Gospel as we moved around the village and by the Grace of God 8 Kenya's accepted Christ as their Personal Savior!  I was extremely excited about how God worked today!  I have been blessed everyday that I have been here and count it a privilege to be able to share God's love in Kenya!  God Bless.  I miss you Kati-185 ~ I miss yall too Madi-Maci-Mia

~Wayne Spaulding

Today the group visited Mtepani again, but it was a little different.  We had a medical center for the mothers and their children.  Kelly Wagner and Diana (a local Doctor) saw about 70 women and children.  The rest of the group went out into the village to share the gospel from hut to hut.  They had an amazing time. 13 were saved, Praise the Lord! Kim Roberts and I stayed to entertained the children while they were waiting to see the Doctors.  We really had a good time today.  The children are still very shy at first, but once we broke out the face paint and chalk they were not shy anymore.  Kim did most of the face painting and I gave them construction paper and markers to color.  The Teacher told them to draw things they knew.  My favorite part of the day was when I sat down with the Teacher and each child came and showed me what they drew.  I was able to ask them by name(because they wrote their name on the page) what each item was and they were able to tell me.  Most of them were three years old.  Amazing! 

Christy Monteith

Hello from Kenya, Just wanted to let you all know that today was so amazing! Please know that witnessing in America is so much harder to accomplish than in Africa.  There were two groups that went to visit people's huts (homes) and share the Good News with them, I can say that the Kenyan's are all so welcoming and kind hearted.  We were not told to go away, but to please sit in our best chair.  That was so encouraging to me.  There were a total of 13 that excepted Christ in their heart.  God has changed my heart here and I Choose to bring the new me back home.  

I have met a wonderful Godly young lady that is 20 and truly Love's God.  She doesn't want us to leave to the States so soon, and I know that it will be hard for me to say good bye.  

To my friends and family, please know that I am in good health and truly blessed to be here!  It is hot, humid, and hard to find ice anywhere here.  But we are finding ice cream tomorrow!  We are so spoiled in America and I know some things in my life are gonna change when I come home.  Mom, Christi, and D I love you and wish you could see how beautiful it is here.  Jen and my church family, keep our safety and travels in your prayers.  Our driver is really nice and a good friend of the Moore Family so we are good with transportation.  

Please know I am very thankful for all of the prayers and support.

With Love,

Katina aka Mama Fu Pi

Mtepani village

Hot, hot and hotter! We spent the day hauling bricks, singing, coloring, wielding an ax, playing duck duck goose, and of course blowing bubbles. Yes, that's correct, we did all that today. The church and community are overwhelmed with the generosity of Hallmark Baptist Church. God is going to use the church to be a lighthouse in this community. Pray for us  tomorrow. we will be going back and setting up a clinic as well as evangelism. 

By the way... the school is coming up fast. They have most of the walls up!

-John Haley

Mtepani village

Sunday

Today we visited Cross Roads Fellowship with missionary Jim Horne.  The Kenyan people really love to come to church and worship the Lord.  Several people raised their hands to say that they had accepted Christ as their Savior.  The Lord is really working in a mighty way in and around Mombasa.  

Our team was able to spend some free time roaming the beach after lunch.  The beach boys will try to sell you anything to make a few dollars.  It's really sad to know that just outside the gates of our hotel is so much sadness and poverty.  God is really working in each of our hearts.  Please keep us in your prayers.

~David Hayes

Visiting the Kibera slums and feeding center

Well... we're here. I'm overwhelmed with all that I have seen, and we have only been in Africa for one day. I'm thankful that we made it here safely. I knew that we would because I believe in my heart that God wants us here. Everything that we have experience prior to the trip points to that. Today, we visited with over 300 children and the staff at a school in the slums of Kibera. I have only heard and seen pictures of things such as these. To experience first hand, to smell, touch and laugh with children that live off of a dollar a day ripped my heart to pieces. Despite the terrible living conditions, hope fills the heart of these children who have no reason to hope. Their hope is in Jesus Christ. What a beautiful sight we saw today! We were able to feed the children and eat beans and rice with them. That was incredible and tasty. I was also able to play soccer with these kids. We gave them a soccer ball that was donated for our trip and they were so thankful. I love it here already! Hi mom, dad and all the family. I love you all and know that God is doing awesome things right now.

-Brandon Adams

Today, we visited Simon Kabaki's school and feeding center in Nairobi, Kenya. The moment we arrived I could hardly hold back the tears as I saw the conditions the these people live in on a daily basis. As I walked to meet the children, I stepped in raw sewage. I met five young girls between the ages of twelve and fourteen who taught me how to play soccer. After I held their hands, they stayed with me for the rest of the time. Each girl wanted to touch my hair. They were starving for love and attention. One told me she want to be a nurse, one a broadcaster, and another a doctor.  We as Americans are so spoiled and have so much. God has blessed us with many riches and blessings. I believe it is our obligation to help people in conditions like these and to let them know the love of Jesus Christ.

-Kim Roberts

I held one of the volley balls that was donated for half of the morning, then finally got to play with it. Playing outside with the kids was my favorite part of the day! I spent the whole time running back and forth with over 100 chasing me and copying everything I did. I have never seen anything like it. I love it here and my heart is so delighted, but at the same time heavy from seeing these kids. They love the Lord, but their living conditions are almost unbearable.Pray for them. Hi Mom! Hi Whitter!Hi Bubba! Love you, and yes I'm wearing sunscreen.

-Hillary Hunt

traveling

Sorry for not posting anything sooner... 

we haven't had internet access.

We are finally to Mombasa, Kenya. Last night we arrived in Nairobi, stayed the night at a mission hotel. We were all very tired and some couldn't sleep because of the time difference. 

These are our EMERGENCY contact number: 

primary number 071-229-3743

secondary number 071-58109973

Hotel Info

TODAY is the DAY....Our team will be meeting in a few short hours to head off to Kenya. Thank you to everyone that came to our send off service. It was amazing! Again thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for all of your prayers, financial support, and encouraging words as we head out on a journey that will change our lives forever.

Here is the hotel address and phone number where we will be staying.
VOYAGER BEACH HOTEL
PO Box 34117
Mombasa, Kenya
011-254-041-4751144

Wednesday prayer service!

Tonight we had a wonderful time at church with our friends and family. Everyone has been so supportive. Here are a few pics from tonight. Please be in prayer for us, especially that things will go well at the airport and that there will be no complications. We will keep you posted.

Thanks,

Kenya Team

Prayer Request

4 Days until we leave for Africa. The devil is already trying to cause problems. I guess that means that great things are about to happen on this trip and he doesn't want that to happen. Wayne's wife Kati has been sick and in the hospital. Docs think that she has an ulcer. Kelly Wagner crushed her laptop that she needs to do her school work through the internet while we are gone. Please pray for the team as we make final preparations to leave on Thursday.